It’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday night – NFL Sunday Night Football. The 2017 season kicks off with a bang featuring an NFC East matchup that will likely have postseason implications. On the new season’s first Sunday, September 10, the New York Giants will head to Dallas to take on the Cowboys. It’s a typical matchup on a Sunday night. Since NBC took over the broadcasting rights to Sunday Night Football, the network and the league have worked very hard to bring fans the best game of the week on Sunday night. There will be plenty of those in 2017.

Sunday Night Football Schedule

The Thursday Night Football schedule simulcasted on NFL Network as well as NBC:

Sept. 10th: Week 1 - New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Sept. 17th: Week 2 - Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons

Sept. 24th: Week 3 - Oakland Raiders at Washington Redskins

Oct. 1st: Week 4 - Indianpolis Colts at Seattle Seahawks

Oct. 8th: Week 5 - Kansas City Chiefs at Houson Texans

Oct. 15th: Week 6 - New York Giants at Denver Broncos

Oct. 22nd: Week 7 - Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots

Oct. 29th: Week 8 - Pittsburgh Steelers at Detriot Lions

Nov. 5th: Week 9 - Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins

Nov. 12th: Week 10 - New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

Nov. 19th: Week 11 - Philadephia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

Nov. 26th: Week 12 - Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Dec. 3rd: Week 13 - Philadelphia Eagles at Seattle Seahawks

Dec. 10th: Week 14 - Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

Dec. 17th: Week 15 - Dallas Cowboys at Oakland Raiders

Dec. 23rd: Week 16 - Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

Technically, the Sunday Night Football season begins with the Sept. 7 Thursday night game between New England and Kansas City. NBC will broadcast the very first game of the season. The network will also carry one other game not on a Sunday night. NBC will broadcast the Thanksgiving night game between the Giants and the Washington Redskins.

One of the great things about Sunday Night Football is the flexible scheduling policy of the NFL. The league considers the Sunday night game to be the feature game of the week. For the final seven weeks of the NFL season, the league can change regularly scheduled Sunday games in favor of one that is more intriguing or has serious playoff implications. For example, last season the Pittsburgh Steelers were scheduled to play AFC North rival Cincinnati on Dec. 4. The game didn’t have much intrigue as the Bengals were limping through a 6-9-1 season. The NFL switched the Sunday night game to Dallas-Tampa Bay, a game that would help determine who would make the playoffs in the NFC.

The Steelers, which played in the AFC championship game last year and are the favorite to win the AFC North again in 2017, are scheduled three times on Sunday night this year. Pittsburgh will face Detroit in Week 8, Green Bay in Week 12, and division rival Baltimore in Week 14. Green Bay is also scheduled three times on Sunday night as is the Oakland Raiders. Defending Super Bowl champion New England is scheduled twice on Sunday night.

The entire Sunday Night Football schedule was announced earlier this year in April. The schedule includes games for Weeks 1 through 16. The Sunday night game in Week 17 is determined by the league based on whatever game will have the biggest impact on the postseason. After the Giants-Cowboys opener in Week 1, Green Bay travels to Atlanta for a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game. The Packers will take on division rival Minnesota in Week 16, the final game on the current Sunday night schedule.

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